America's Best Newspaper Writing : A Collection of ASNE Prizewinners

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America's Best Newspaper Writingrepresents the "best-of-the-best" from 25 years of the American Society of Newspaper Editors (ASNE) Distinguished Writing Awards competition. With an emphasis on local reporting, new stories including more on crisis coverage, and pedagogical tools to help students become better writers, the second edition is the most useful and up-to-date anthology available for feature writing and introduction to journalism classes.

ROY PETER CLARK and CHRISTOPHER SCANLAN are both working journalists and teachers at the Poynter Institute, a world-renowned journalism school that gives writing, reporting, and editing seminars to thousands of media professionals each year. Both have helped in developing the annual Distinguished Writing Awards competition, and have chosen the stories in this book, making a collection that is truly the "best-of-the-best."

Preface

vii

The Remarks of Everett S. Allen Upon Becoming the First Winner of the ASNE Distinguished Writing Award in 1978

xxiii

About the Authors

xxv

Introduction

1

(286)

1 DEADLINE WRITING

5

(23)

Richard Ben Cramer,

The Philadelphia Inquirer, March 15, 1978

Report from the Mideast: Shiva for a Child Slain in a Palestinian Raid

7

(1)

"'I don't understand this killing of children in the middle of the day. But I don't know if I hate them. This will not bring me back my niece."'

Leonora LaPeter,

Savannah (Ga.) Morning News, September 4, 1999

Jury Sends Santa Claus Killer to Electric Chair

13

(1)

"'What happened in that house is consummate evil."'

David Von Drehle,

The Washington Post, April 28, 1994

Men of Steel Are Melting With Age

18

(1)

The funeral of Richard Nixon brings out the old Republican guard, a cadre of once powerful men who now ponder their own mortality.

Francis X. Clines,

The New York Times, March 20, 1988

X-RAY READING: In Belfast, Death, Too, Is Diminished by Death

22

(1)

Another rebel body is placed in a coffin. A nearby piece of graffiti proclaims: "I wonder each night what the monster will do to me tomorrow."

2 LOCAL REPORTING AND BEATS

28

(33)

Rick Bragg,

The New York Times, August 13, 1995

All She Has, $150,000, Is Going to a University

30

(1)

A woman who scrimped and saved all her life gives her savings to a scholarship fund for black students.

Thomas Boswell,

The Washington Post, September 30, 1980

Losing It: Careers Fall Like Autumn Leaves

34

(1)

"Mixed among the burst beer cups...headed for the trash heap, we find old friends who are being consigned to the dust bin of baseball's history."

Jonathan Bor,

The Post-Standard, May 12, 1984

It Fluttered and Became Bruce Murray's Heart

41

(1)

A new heart is flown from St. Louis to New York in an ice-filled beer cooler. Will it make it in time to save a man's life?

Mitch Albom,

Detroit Free Press, December 22, 1995

Mackenzie Football Star Another Gunplay Victim

46

(1)

A young man, surrounded by guns, tries to escape a culture of violence through athletic achievement.

Russell Eshleman Jr.,

The Philadelphia Inquirer, March 12, 1991

Even for Trees, Age Could Have Its Privileges

53

(1)

"Everybody complains about deadwood in state government."

Russell Eshleman Jr.,

The Philadelphia Inquirer, June 13, 1991

Domino's Bites Back at Tax

55

(1)

"Hold the anchovies, the green peppers...and the taxes"

Dan Neil,

Los Angeles Times, October 1, 2003

X-RAY READING: Caught Up in the Crossfire

56

(1)

"A few laps around the neighborhood will wring such doubts from your mind. The Crossfire is wicked fun to drive."

3 OBITUARIES AND FUNERALS

61

(12)

Tom Shales,

The Washington Post, January 16, 1987

Ray Bolger, the Immortal Scarecrow

63

(1)

One movie role turned a song-and-dance man into an American cultural icon.

Jim Nicholson,

The Philadelphia Daily News, March 19, 1986

Edward E. "Ace" Clark, Ice and Coal Dealer

66

(1)

He drove a horse-drawn ice wagon and liked to deliver the iceman's line: "Every man has a wife, but an iceman has his pick."

Jim Nicholson,

The Philadelphia Daily News, April 2, 1986

X-RAY READING: Tastykake Retiree Marie Byrne

70

(1)

A kind Irish woman "took in neighborhood runaways but was tough enough to keep them and her own kids in line."

4 CRIME AND COURTS

73

(39)

Cathy Frye,

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, December 14, 2003

Caught in the Web: Evil at the Door

75

(1)

"She was right there, only a stretch of dark and the front door between them, and she had no idea he had come for her.

Linnet Myers,

Chicago Tribune, February 12, 1989

Humanity on Trial

87

(1)

"Murderers walk these halls, and the mothers of murderers, and the mothers of the murdered too."

Anne Hull,

St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times, May 2, 1993

Metal to Bone, Day 1: Click

96

(1)

On the Fourth of July, a young policewoman feels a gun barrel against her skull and then hears a click.

5 BUSINESS REPORTING AND EXPLANATORY JOURNALISM

112

(26)

William E. Blundell,

The Wall Street Journal, June 10, 1981

The Life of a Cowboy: Drudgery and Danger

114

(1)

Jim Miller represents a dying breed of real cowboys in an era of shiny belt buckles and mechanical bulls.

Peter Rinearson,

The Seattle Times, June 19, 1983

Making It Fly: Designing the 757

121

(1)

Building a new jetliner requires innovation, compromise and a bizarre test involving anesthetized chickens.

Michael Gartner,

The Daily Tribune, August 2, 1995

X-RAY READING: Property Tax Exemptions: Legal but Terribly Unfair

132

(1)

Some people in this small town have to pay all their taxes. Others don't. The law is the culprit.

6 OPINION AND PERSUASION

138

(26)

Murray Kempton,

Newsday, November 9, 1984

A Woman Burned While Police Had Their Danish

140

(1)

A city haunted by a famous case of civic cowardice faces another case involving gross negligence by the police.

Richard Aregood,

The Philadelphia Daily News, March 15, 1990

Tugs at the Curtain, but Wizard's Lips Remain Frozen

143

(1)

Politicians in Washington have plans for cutting taxes, but they are illusions.

Donna Britt,

The Washington Post, November 30, 1993

A One-Word Assault on Women

146

(1)

A young woman wears rhinestones around her neck. They form a word that shames her and denigrates all women.

Bailey Thomson,

Mobile (Ala.) Register, October 11, 1998

Dixie's Broken Heart: The Two Alabamas

149

(1)

A state struggles against its history to enter the modern age.

Cynthia Tucker,

The Atlanta Constitution, September 22, 1999

Kings Defend Rogue Who Sullied Famed Name

154

(1)

"Sometimes, when you attempt to pull a worthless friend out of the hole he's dug for himself, you end up covered in mud, too."

Andrew H. Malcolm,

Los Angeles Times, March 3, 2002

A Thesaurist Leaves, Exits

157

(1)

A pithy tribute to a man with no synonym.

Leonard Pitts,

The Miami Herald, March 2, 2000

X-RAY READING: Second Thoughts Following New York Verdict

159

(1)

A columnist caught between "not able to believe" and "not able to dismiss."

7 THE PROFILE AND FEATURE STORY

164

(50)

Cynthia Gorney,

The Washington Post, May 21, 1979

Dr. Seuss: Wild Orchestrator of Plausible Nonsense for Kids

166

(1)

One of the world's great authors of children's literature offers a tour of his house and his imagination.

Saul Pett,

Associated Press, November 30, 1980

Koch Grabs Big Apple and Shakes It

174

(1)

The mayor of New York is a "mixed metaphor of a politician," as feisty and independent as the city he represents.

Mirta Ojito,

The New York Times, February 3, 1998

A Sentimental Journey to la Casa of Childhood

180

(1)

"In a way, I'm reporting the story of a neighborhood, a typical one in Havana. But I'm also reporting the life I never got to have."

David Finkel,

St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times, May 5, 1985

For Lerro, Skyway Nightmare Never Ends

186

(1)

A freak storm, a huge tanker, a fragile bridge and 35 are dead. One man bears the tragic burden of blame.

Tommy Tomlinson,

The Charlotte (N.C.) Observer, November 16, 2003

A Beautiful Find

196

(1)

"You decide you want to solve a math problem that's so hard, no one's come close in 25 years. How do you begin?"

Blaine Harden,

The Washington Post, November 8, 1987

Life, Death, and Corruption on an African Mainstream

203

(1)

Part supermarket, part disco, part brothel, part slaughterhouse, the boat makes its journey into the heart of darkness.

Ken Fuson,

The Des Moines (Iowa) Register, March 16, 1995

X-RAY READING: Ah, What a Day!

211

(1)

The sun begins to thaw Iowa. The rituals of spring begin.

8 TERRORISM, WAR AND DISASTERS

214

(29)

Bryan Gruley,

The Wall Street Journal, September 12, 2001

Nation Stands in Disbelief and Horror

216

(1)

"They were like scenes from a catastrophe movie. Or a Tom Clancy novel. Or a CNN broadcast from a distant foreign nation. But they were real yesterday."

Steve Lopez,

Los Angeles Times, September 15, 2001

Amid the Ruins, a Separate Peace

223

(1)

"It rained like everyone was crying all at once, and it seemed to me that New York had never been more beautiful."

Mark Fritz,

Associated Press, May 12, 1994

Only Human Wreckage Is Left in Karubamba

226

(1)

The civil war in Rwanda claims hundreds of thousands of lives. "Nobody lives here any more."

Anthony Shadid,

The Washington Post, March 31, 2003

A Boy Who Was "Like a Flower"

230

(1)

"On a cold, concrete slab, a mosque caretaker washed the body of 14-year-old Arkan Daif for the last time."

Richard Zahler,

The Seattle Times, May 18, 1980

1,200 Feet of St. Helens Tossed to the Wind

235

(1)

When a volcano erupts, it leaves its mark: "The ash filled the sky, and then it settled toward earth."

Jim Dwyer,

The New York Times, October 9, 2001

X-RAY READING: Fighting for Life 50 Floors Up, With One Tool and Ingenuity

238

(1)

On September 11, lives depend on a simple tool.

9 THE CLASSICS

243

(44)

Harold A. Littledale,

New York Evening Post, January 12, 1917

Prisoners With Midnight in Their Hearts

245

(1)

An exposť of horrific conditions within a prison system ends with a call for action.

William Allen White,

The Emporia (Kan.) Gazette, May 17, 1921

Mary White

249

(1)

"A rift in the clouds in a gray day threw a shaft of sunlight upon her coffin as her nervous, energetic little body sank to its last sleep."

Lorena A. Hickok,

Minneapolis Tribune, August 7, 1923

Iowa Village Waits All Night for Glimpse at Fleeting Train

254

(1)

A village stays up to watch history pass. "It will be something for our children to tell their grandchildren about, all right."

Richard Wright,

New Masses, October 8, 1935

Joe Louis Uncovers Dynamite

259

(1)

The victory of a heavyweight champion inspires a celebration in the streets of Chicago that reflects pride and aspirations for freedom.

Dorothy Thompson,

New York Herald Tribune, November 2, 1938

Mr. Welles and Mass Delusion

263

(1)

"The newspapers are correct in playing up this story over every other news event in the world. It is the story of the century."

Ernie Pyle,

Scripps Howard Newspaper Alliance, January 10, 1944

The Death of Captain Henry Waskow

267

(1)

American soldiers in World War II mourn the death of a beloved captain, who is shot down in the hills of Italy.

Marvel Cooke,

The Daily Compass, 1950

From "The Bronx Slave Market"

270

(1)

Women day workers in New York City are exploited, performing menial tasks for low wages.

Red Smith,

New York Herald Tribune, October 4, 1951

Miracle of Coogan's Bluff

276

(1)

A dramatic ending of a baseball game in New York becomes one of the greatest moments in sports history.

Meyer Berger,

The New York Times, January 23, 1959

About New York

280

(1)

An old blind man, down and out, is taken to a Catholic hospital, where his secret is revealed: He was once a great violinist.

Gene Patterson,

The Atlanta Constitution, September 16, 1963

A Flower for the Graves

284

(1)

Four black children die in a church bombing in Birmingham, Ala. The racist white South must take the blame.